Has anyone made their own pocket charts for centers? I seem to remember meeting someone who took file folders and cut up transparencies into strips and attached them to the file folder. She used it for poetry mini-sentence strips.

Also, I know if I don't want to make tons of copies, I place a sheet inside a heavy duty sheet protector and give the student a dry erase marker to write with. Good for handwriting practice too.

Shower curtain liners can be used to make all sorts of games, I found many ideas here at proteacher. Also tons of wonderful ideas for using shower curtain liners at http://www.teachers.net/lessons/posts/1912.html. I actually plan on making several games with these before school starts!

I saw a great idea at a workshop this summer....you need a box of sandwich ziploc bags, and a roll of duct tape- which now comes in really cute colors....lay the bags out then duct tape all the way across the top...lay another row of bags just below and tape the top of them to the bottom of the others to make another row....does that make sense?? Don't tape the openings...then the opening is the pocket...you can make any size grid you need and any size bags, even the 2 gallon size and display student work in it! For that you need to lay the bags out sideways (bottom on the left, opening on the right) then duct tape all the way across the top...lay another row of bags just below and tape the top of them to the bottom of the others to make another row.

I have also used library pockets & posterboard to make pocket charts. I glued the library pockets to the posterboard. You can use as many as you need and consider your needs for spacing, etc, and leave room for a title. Then I laminated it, and opened the tops of the library pockets with a razor. You can use overhead markers on the laminated pockets to change out students' names, or whatever you need.

I made a pocket chart from clear plastic that you buy at a fabric store to cover tables. (It is also very good to use to cover decorated bulletin boards that might get splashed with water). I put a solid colored nylon material behind it that you can buy to cover outside chairs or use for kites. You can make the pockets any size you want. The plastic and the nylon sew very well on the sewing machine.

I have been trying to sew my own pocket chart using nylon and clear plastic. The plastic is impossible to cut completely straight, even with a rotary cutter, and when I try to sew it the plastic slips and the seam is a mess. What a nightmare! I wanted to make my own to save some money and because I HATE the blue color pocket charts come in. That shade of blue clashes with all of my classroom decor. Do you have any suggestions for keeping the plastic from slipping? I tried masking tape but that didn't seem to help!

OK, so I completed the project. I stuck with the masking tape to secure the plastic while sewing. It wasn't perfect but it helped. I never could get the plastic cut completely straight either. It looks exactly like you would imagine a homemade pocket chart made by someone with zero sewing experience might look. The seams are not straight. It is a mess. However, I only spent about $4.00 on materials and 4 hours of my time. If I had paid $40 for it like I have other pocket charts I would be furious at the quality, but I didn't so I am quite pleased. I used black nylon so the calendar headings and dates really POP! From afar it looks store bought. Just don't get too close! I plan to make a lot more of varying sizes and imagine my sewing abilities will improve as I continue. Try it out! I'm glad I did and you will be too!

For getting your nylon and plastic to stay together (and also to help with cutting the plastic straight) would it help to lightly spray one side of the plastic with adhesive spray then lay the nylon on it? That may also eliminate the need for some of the sewing - ?

I didn't understand to concept behind the request for 'Descriptive Title' in my last post. I thought it meant for myself, but it is meant to be the title for the message. Duh! So I am reposting with a related title.

For getting your nylon and plastic to stay together (and also to help with cutting the plastic straight) would it help to lightly spray one side of the plastic with adhesive spray then lay the nylon on it? That may also eliminate the need for some of the sewing - ?

I tried to make a pocket chart and it looked wonderful. The problem with mine is the plastic I used doesn't stay stiff and the items fall out. What type of plastic did you use? I got mine at the fabric store and it was vinyl to use for covering outside items.

I am all for homemade (otherwise my search wouldn't have led me to this thread..) However, I think I have found some good solutions - towards the end of summer, Target sells small ones, like 1' x 2' for a dollar that can hold a few rows sentence strips or a few sight words in red. Also oriental trading has a lot of colors and shapes for cheap! (like a tree one 30" x 40" with 5 hanging grommets for $10) and amazon sells them for $10-20 depending on the price, MUCH cheaper than anything on the "education websites"... I decided that while there's a lot of stuff I like to do myself, this one I was ok buying - as long as it was cheap.

Just made two different types of pocket charts. I sewed one, the other I didn't. The non-sewing one was way easier. You need 1 vinyl fleeced back tablecloth (Walmart has them for a reasonable price), a box of page protects, duct tape, clear packing tape and a hole punch. Cut the table cloth to the size you want your pocket chart to be. Next decide how tall you want your rows to be. A standard chart has rows 4" apart with the pocket being 2" tall. Basically you calculate your row height = pocket height + 2". Once I calculate the row height, I take a pen and yardstick (beginning 1" from the bottom) mark where my rows will go. Then I take a page protector and cut strips to make the pockets. Again for a standard chart these strips are 11" x 2". Using the packing tape, I tape the strips together to get my row length. Next begin with the bottom row, I tape the row strips to the table cloth using the duct tape to tape the bottom of the strip only. Using duct tape, tape around the pocket chart (1/2 of the tape on the front side of the chart and 1/2 to the back side of the chart). To finish your chart, your needs holes to hang it. So duct tape a strip at the top of the chart. For your holes, make marks 1" from top and 1" from both sides. Then make a mark about 9" from the side marks. You will want about 4 hanging holes for a standard chart. Take a hole punch (I used a 1" punch, but any will work.) and make your holes. Your chart is now finished!

Sometimes if you have a extra wide chart, your pockets may sag. To solve that issue, I take the packing tape and make vertical strips 12" apart.